Automatic guide for felts and wires



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f Al Hl AUTOMATIG GUIDE FOR FELTS AND WIRES.

Patentew-Feb. 45,1896.'

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A. H. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC GUIDE FOR FELTS AND WIRES. A N0. 554,093. lPadznted'febl 4, 1896.

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UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED HENRYYSMITH, OF IVILMINGTON, DELAXVARE.

AUTOMATIC GUIDE FOR FELTS AND WIRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 554,093, dated February 4, 1896.

Appiioaion flied January 2, 1895.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED HENRY SMITH, of wWilmington, in the county of Newcastle and State of Delaware, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Guide for Felts and Vires, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to paper-making machines and its obj ect is to provide a new and improved guide for felts and wires which is comparatively simple and durable in construction, very sensitive, reliable, and automatic in operation.

The invention consists principally of reciprocally-balanced rollers arranged adjacent to the guide-roller and connected with the sliding bearing thereof, the said auxiliary rollers being adapted to receivev the sides of the felt or wire, so that on the oblique travel of the latter either roller is overbalanced and the bearing is shifted to change the position of the guide-roller to correct the movement of the traveling wire or felt.

The invention further consists of a particular novel shifting device for the guide-rollerbearing, the said device being fully explained hereinafter.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is an end elevation of the improvement as applied. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of part of the shifting device on the line 4 4 of Fig. Fig. 5 is a crosssection of a modied form of the improvement on the line 5 5 of Fig. G. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 7 is an end view of another modified form of the improvement, and Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the same.

It is well known that for various reasons. the felts and wires on paper-making machines tend to run oft' to one side, and in order to correct this guides are employed, controlled by the felt or wire and arranged to change the position of `the guide-roll from a normal transverse or right-angular position relative Serial No. 533,598. (No model.)

to the line of motion of the felt or wire into an oblique position, either to the right or the left, according to the side toward which the felt or wire tends to run. In order to produce a very sensitive device to correct this tendency of the felt or wire to run to one side is the object of the invention presently to be described in detail.

My invention comprises two distinct yet related devices, viz: iirst, the action-that is, the parts directly engaged and operated by the belt-and, second, the shifting device directly connected to the movable bearing of the guide-roll. The new action is shown in Figs. l, 2, 5, and 6, the new shifting device in Figs. l, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8. Each of these devices may be employed in combination with a corresponding device of usual construction. Thus Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate the new shifting device in combination with a well-known action, while Figs. 5 and 6 represent the new action in combination with a well-known shifting device and Figs. l to 4show the new action in combination with the new shifting device.

The guide-roll A over which passes the felt or wire vB has one end, A', of its shaft journaled in a bearing C, swiveled on a standard C held on the machine-frame in the usual manner. The other end, A2, of the guide-roll A is journaled in a bearing C2, preferably swiveled in a bracket D, mounted to slide longitudinally on a rod E, secured in the stand.

ards E of an auxiliary frame E2 attached to the main frame of the machine opposite the standard C. The roll A ordinarily stands at right angles to the line of motioiror travel of the felt or wire B, so that the latter moves properly; but whenever the felt or wire B runs to one side on the roll A for well-known reasons then the said roll A is shifted into an oblique position relative to the line of travel of the felt or wire B-that is, the bracket D is moved longitudinally on the rod E, so that the bearing C2 is moved with the bracket, and consequently the roll A assumes an oblique position, the bearing C turning on account of being swiveled in the standard C. 'Now in order to accomplish this movement of the bracket D, I provide a pair of rollers F and F', arranged adjacent to the roll A and standing in inclined positions relative to the roll and one to the other, as is plainly indicated IOO in Fig. l, the said rollers being adapted to receive the sides B and B2, respectively, of the felt or wire B, as indicated in Fig. l. The rollers F and F are journaled in the upper arms G2 and G3, respectively, of bell-crank levers G and G, respectively, pivoted at G4 and G5, respectively, in the frame E2 and standards E', as indicated in the said figure.

The lower or vertical arms G(i G7 of the said bell-crank levers are connected with each other by a link GS, so that the bell-crank levers move in unisonthat is, when the roller F is pressed downward then the other roller F is moved upward, and vice versa. As long` as the wire or felt B is in its proper-that is, its central-position, when passing over the roll A and the rollers F and F', then the latter are completely counterbalaneed; but as soon as the wire or felt B moves to one side-say, for instance, to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l-then more weight and pressure is put on the roller F by the felt or wire B, and in a like manner the weight and pressure on the roller F is reduced by the side B of the felt or wire moving away from this roller. The felt or wire by this particular movement to one side depresses the roller F, so that the bell-crank lever G is caused to swing in the direction of the arrow a by the link G8. The other bell-crank lever G is caused to swing in the direction of the arrow b to move the outer end of the roller F upward.

It will be seen that the rollers are reciprocally balanced, each roller counterbalancing the other.

As shown in Fig. l, the lower or inner ends ot' the journals for the rollers F and F are located directly over the fulcrums G4 and G5, so that the lower inner ends of the rollers make proportionately less movement than the outer ends to increase the sensitiveness of the machine in proportion to the amount of sidewise travel of the felt or wire B.

The arm G2 of the bell-crank lever G is pivotally connected by a link H with a bell-crank lever Il', fulcrumed on the standard E3 forming part of the frame E2. The bell-crank lever l-I is pivotally connected by a link I (see Fig. i2) with the double pawl J hung on an eccentric K secured to the reduced eccentric end A2 Qipthe end A2 of the shaft for the roll *Thus when the latter is rotated the eccentric K causes an up-and-down swinging motion of the pawl J, it being understood that the roll A is rotated by the traveling felt or wire B passing over the said roll A.

The pawl J is provided with the two arms J and J 2 adapted to engage ratchet-wheels L and L,respectively, secured on a transverselyextending short shaft L2 journaled in suitable bearings in the bracket D, the latter being provided with the arms D and D2 Iitted to slide loosely overafixed screi -rod P, secured in the standards E. The inner end oi' the shaft L2 carries a beveled pinion N in mesh with a beveled gear-wheel-O, formed in its hub O with a nut screwing on the fixed screw-rod P previously mentioned, and arranged directly below the guide-rod E for the bracket D.

The position of the pawl J relative to the rollers F and F is such that when the latter are in their normal position, as illustrated in Fig. l-that is, when the felt or wire B moves properly over the roll A-then the arms J and J2 are both out of engagement with the respective ratchet-wheels L and L but as soon as the wire or felt B makes a sidewise movement on the roll A andactuates either of the rollers F or F, as previouslyexplained, then the action of the connected bell-crank levers G and G causes the link H to impart motion to the bell-crank lever ll, and the latter, by the link I, moves either of the two pawl-arms J and J2 in contact or mesh with the corresponding ratchet-wheel L or L. As the pawl J has a continuous up-and-down motion derived from the turning of the roll A, the corresponding pawl-arm J or J turns its ratchetwheel L or L', so that the shaft L2 is turned in either direction, and the movement of the shaft is transmitted by the pinion N to the gear-wheel O, so that the nut O of the latter is caused to travel on the iixed screw-rod P either to the right or to the left, according to the roller F or F pressed on by the wire or felt B. As the gear-wheel O and its nut O is held between the arms D and D2 of the bracket D, the latter is carried to the right or to the left by the said nut and gear-wheel, and consequently the bearing C2, swiveled on the upper end oi' the bracket, is carried in a like direction, and an oblique position is given to the rollA. As previously mentioned, this oblique position of the rollAcauses the wire or felt B to return to the normal position, so as to travel forwardly in the proper line of motion for the felt or wire. As the respective side B or B2 recedes from the outer end of the roller F or F', both rollers are returned to their normal position-that is, are completely counterbalancedand by the connection previously mentioned the double pawl J is returned to its normal position by moving the corresponding pawl-arm J or J2 out of mesh with the corresponding ratchet-wheel L or L. The pawl J now again moves up and down by the action of the eccentric K and roll A without its arms J and J2 being in contact with either ratchet-wheel L or L.

It is understood that when the felt or wire leaves its normal position then thepressure of the felt or wire is taken ott' of one of the rollers F or F and added to the other, and the pressure is not added and subtracted merely, but subtracted in the one case so that the remaining pressure acts through a rapidly-diminishing leverage and the pressure in the other case through a rapidly-increasing leverage on the bell-crank levers. Furthermore, the pressure of the felt or wire against each of the rollers F and F is made up of two component parts, one of which is due to the weight of the felt and the other is IOO IIO

due to the tension, which latter is a result of the angular position of the rollers. It is evident that the pressure due to the weight is a constant quantity per linear inch, while that due to the angular position of the felt over the roll varies with the angle, so that on the side where the felt works in toward the center the pressure from this cause really decreases, while on the other side the increase in the angle will produce a greater pressure.

An extremely sensitive apparatus is thus produced, as the pressure not only changes its point of action on the balanced mechanism, but actually changes in quantity and changes its amount of leverage, both of the changes being such, that when reinforced, the other owing to the displacement of the felt or wire to one side or the other as described, the bell-crank levers G or G being light and easily overbalanced are displaced, and by means of the bell-crank lever I-Il and links II and I the pawl J is put in operation with the ratchet-wheel L or L, as the case may be, so that the roll A will continue to move itself forward or backward until the irregularity in the position of the felt is corrected, at which time the rollers F and F will again balance each other and the double pawl J will be out of action relative to the ratchetwheels L and L'.

As illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the shifting mechanism for transmitting the motion of the rollers F and Fl to the bearing O2 of the roll A is somewhat changed, and in this case the bearing C2 is swiveled in a socket Q' formed on a bell-crank lever Q, pivoted at Q2 to a suitable bracket or standard of the auxiliary frame. The arm Q3 of this bellcrank lever Q is pivotally connected with an extension G9 of the link GS, connecting the two bell-crank levers G and G' with each other. Now it will be seen that by the arrangement described the motion of the bellcrank levers is transmitted by the link G8 directly to the bell-crank lever Q, which in turn, by its section Q3, moves the bearing C2 longitudinally to move the roll A into the oblique position.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the shifting mechanism shown in Figs. I, 2, 3, and 4 is retained; but the sidewise movement of the felt or wire B is transmitted in a different manner to the link I connected with the double pawl J. In this case the outer end of the link I is connected with one arm of a bellcrank lever R, connected by its other arm with a suitable bar S carrying two fenders T and T" adapted to be engaged by the sides of the felt or wire B. Thus when the latter moves in contact with one of the fenders T or T the bar S is shifted in the corresponding direction, so that the bell-crank lever R is actuated on the link I and moves either of the two pawl-arms J or J 2 in contact with the corresponding ratchet-wheels L or L2.

bracket slidable on the rod and on which the adjacent end of the guide-roll is mounted, a stationary and threaded shaft parallel with the rod, an internally-threaded gear-wheel movable on the threaded shaft and having a connection with the bracket by which the two are made to move along their respective shafts in unison, a short shaft journaled in the bracket, a gear iixed to the short shaft and meshing with the gear on the threaded shaft, a connection between the short shaft and guide-roll, by which motion may be transferred from the latter to the former, and means operated by the sidewise movement of the web for controlling the said connection, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the traveling web, the guide-roll mounted to swing with a capability of changing its angular position relatively to the line of motion of the web, an auxiliary web-support engaging the lower surface of the web and mounted to swing about an axis extending longitudinally of the web, and a guide-roll shifting device controlled by the movement of the said support, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the swinging guideroll, a shifting device therefor; the traveling web, the movable auxiliary roll operatively connected to the shifting device, for controlling the position of the guide-roll, and means for supporting the auxiliary roll beneath one edge of the web, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a movable guideroll, a shifting device therefor, a traveling web, two auxiliary rolls operatively connected to the said shifting device, and two bell-crank levers, supporting the auxiliary rolls beneath the edges ofthe web, substantially as described. y

5. The combination of a swinging guideroll, a shifting device therefor, a web, two auxiliary rolls operatively connected to the said shifting device, said rolls being inclined toward each other and having the under edges of the web supported on their upper surfaces and two synchronously-movable bell-cranks sustaining the auxiliary rolls in position, substantially as described.

ALFRED HENRY SMITII.

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